The Biostatistics Core is designed to provide statistical and epidemiologic expertise and data management services to support the research projects of the Oral Cancer Research Center (OCRC). The extensive interactions among projects in the OCRC and quantitative evaluation of each specific project require cohesive statistical support and the establishment of this core facility. The specific aims of the Biostatistics Core are to: (1) coordinate statistical activities in the OCRC to ensure that investigators have ready access to statistical consultation and support; (2) provide statistical and epidemiologic expertise in study design including research plan, sample size determination and data collection form design; (3) develop and manage oral cancer related research databases to serve as a multidisciplinary research resource for project investigators; and (4) provide statistical analysis for OCRC projects using the most up-to-date statistical methodologies and computing facilities. An important feature of our Biostatistics Core is the collaboration of a senior epidemiologist, experienced in cancer epidemiology and in molecular medicine, permitting valuable research design input into all the project and into the analytic challenges.